R Squared Ltd Acquires Shares of 1,350 Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Bensler LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 61,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,232,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its position in Cintas by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 268.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 237,101 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,319,000 after purchasing an additional 172,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Cintas in the 4th quarter worth about $268,000. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTAS has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.46.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS opened at $200.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $202.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.25. The stock has a market cap of $80.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.37. Cintas Co. has a one year low of $148.87 and a one year high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.61%.

About Cintas

Cintas Corporation engages in the provision of corporate identity uniforms and related business services primarily in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and All Other segments. The company rents and services uniforms and other garments, including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items; and provides restroom cleaning services and supplies, as well as sells uniforms.